A summary of petroleum plays and characteristics of the Michigan basin

Abstract

The Michigan basin is a relatively simple, circular basin, up to 17,000 feet deep, centered in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The stratigraphic section consists primarily of clastic and carbonate rocks of Cambrian to Pennsylvanian age. Petroleum production from the Michigan basin dates back to 1885, and, as of 1984, cumulative production totaled over 958 million barrels of oil and almost 2.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The discovered fields and remaining prospects can be divided into eight plays for purposes of description and assessment: (1) the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian gas play, (2) the Antrim Shale play, (3) the Devonian anticlinal play, (4) the Niagaran reef play, (5) the Trenton-Black River play, (6) the Prairie du Chien play, (7) the Cambrian play, and (8) the Precambrian rift play.

A Diagenesis Model for Geomechanical Simulations: Formulation and Implications for Pore Pressure and Development of Geological Structures

“…We have used experimental data for Kimmeridge Clay from Nygård et al (, , ) to calibrate a clay/shale model and data for Berea Sandstone (Wong et al, ) and a lithic sand (Chuhan et al, ) to calibrate a sand/sandstone model. The burial histories for Kimmeridge Clay (Nygård et al, ) and Berea Sandstone (Charpentier, ) were used to estimate the temperature histories for both sediments and to calibrate the kinetics of the corresponding diagenetic reactions. The maximum temperatures for both sediments is estimated to be about 80 °C, assuming reasonable thermal gradients.…”

“…The material properties for sandstone layers have been calibrated using Berea Sandstone data as a benchmark. Berea Sandstone has a present‐day porosity of 0.21 (Wong et al, ) with an estimated maximum burial depth of ∼1.7 km (Charpentier, ). If these data are compared with the experimental mechanical compaction trend for a lithic sand with a similar grain size to that of Berea Sandstone (Chuhan et al, ), it becomes evident that processes other than pure mechanical compaction have played a role in the porosity loss of Berea Sandstone (see Figure ).…”

“…Burial history for Mississippian/Upper Devonian sediments in the Central Michigan Basin. The curve was obtained from Figure 7 in Charpentier (). Berea Sandstone is estimated to be of that age (e.g., see Figure 6 in Charpentier ().…”

“…The curve was obtained from Figure 7 in Charpentier (). Berea Sandstone is estimated to be of that age (e.g., see Figure 6 in Charpentier (). The temperature values result from assuming a surface temperature of 20 žC and a temperature gradient of 35 žC/km, and the vertical effective stress values result from the overlaying rock column with the calculated porosity values.…”

Review of the geology of the Sioux Uplift and Iowa shelf provinces as a basis for estimates of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources

“…Production is from porous sandstones in the Simpson Group (Ancel Group equivalent) and(or) from intercrystalline and vugular porosity in the Viola Limestone (Galena Group equivalent) (Adler and others, 1971). In the Michigan basin to the northeast, oil is produced from stratigraphic traps caused by porosity and permeability variations in dolomitized limestones of the Trenton Group (Galena Group equivalent) (Charpentier, 1987); in the Illinois basin to the southeast, oil is produced from fields associated with structural highs in the limestone/dolomite of the Galena Group ("Trenton") (Bristol and Buschbach, 1973).…”